Last year, South Korea's coffee import amount approached 2 trillion won.
According to agricultural and food export information from the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) on the 30th, the import value of coffee (green beans, roasted beans, coffee concentrates, instant coffee) last year was $1.378 billion (about 1.9 trillion won), an 11% increase from the previous year ($1.242 billion).
The coffee import volume was 215,838 tons, a 5% increase from the previous year (205,884 tons).
The increase in value was greater than that of weight, likely due to the rise in coffee bean prices last year. The price of Arabica coffee reached its highest level in over 50 years at the end of last year, driven by droughts and heavy rains in Brazil and Vietnam, the world's top two coffee-producing countries.
Last year's coffee import amount increased by more than $500 million compared to 2020 ($850 million). However, it was less than the record high of $1.44 billion in 2022.
According to Euromonitor, the annual per capita coffee consumption in South Korea is projected to be 405 cups in 2023, which is 2.7 times the global average annual per capita coffee consumption of 152 cups.